All about Tibette
by Bane8
Summary: A story about Tina and Bette. Starts with how they met and will continue. Please review extensively and tell me if you want me to cover specific incidents or scenes you've imagined. It will get hot soon! And there will be lots of love and sweetness etc.
1. Chapter 1

"After you, my dear."

"Thanks, Eric."

Tina took his arm as they walked through the magnificent oak-paneled doors. She drew in a sharp breath of delight when she walked into the lobby – it was modern, to be sure, but without the awkward angles and sterility that commonly accompanied modern architecture. It was beautiful indeed.

"Nice, isn't it? Bette Porter has a fantastic eye I must say," said Eric cheerfully as they walked into the main gallery, the look of which had fallen gently into minimalist, clean lines. Tina practically shuddered in delight – the whole place had such a lovely cultured feel to it.

She frowned and turned to Eric.

"Oh…she designed this? I thought you said she did art history? I thought art history grads curate or something."

"Yeah, kind of. Bette's no architect, but she advised on this and it turned out excellent," replied Eric, handing their invitations to the doorman before starting into the room with a slight bounce. "Okay! Let's look around."

They wandered around for a bit. The pieces were all centred around women, Tina soon noticed, so she turned and asked Eric why.

He laughed.

"Well it's the theme. As to why she has this theme today it's probably artistic choice…but maybe she just loves women, ha-ha, if you get my drift."

Tina winced slightly at his slight crudeness. Well, so the Bette woman was gay. That wasn't uncommon. Quite interesting, actually. It made the idea of her more exotic. Tina wondered if she was beautiful. It was at that moment when she noticed the lady in the black pantsuit. She was standing in the middle of the gallery, her back turned to Tina, her posture easy. Her hair was short, Tina noticed, but short in a ladylike way, dark, lightly curled in at the ends. She was tall; she really was. Her legs were long, and she was slender in a way that made Tina feel flabby. _And she wears high heels too. That is just one intimidating woman. I hope I don't cross her._

"Who is that lady, Eric?" Tina gestured toward the tall lady. Eric glanced in the direction she was looking.

"Who, m'dear? Oh that one? That's Bette Porter! We need to go say hi, come on, need to ask her something."

Without another word Eric steered her straight towards the Tall Lady. Tina felt ridiculously filled with trepidation. "Excuse me, Bette," sang Eric, rather self-importantly, Tina thought.

And then the Tall Lady turned.

And Tina just stared at her. In that instance she felt all those clichéd things all at once – her face flushing, her legs going weak, her limbs going numb. Bette Porter was absolutely _beautiful. _She was dark and her make-up was rather thick, accentuating large, perfect features all put together on a sharp, longish face. In some that would have turned out rather unattractive. On Bette Porter her features were set proudly and easily on her face as if they knew they had every darn right to be there , just as how her suit just seemed to fit so smugly about her, and how she herself stood like she knew that she had what it took. And her smile – she was smiling – was just the most arresting of all. The wide smile stretched broadly and perfectly across her face, showing one of the straightest, whitest set of pearly-whites Tina had ever seen. The smile went to her eyes, Tina noticed in wonder. Those eyes seemed to dance with expression, completing the picture and hitting Tina with a wave of radiance so strong she felt almost physically assaulted.

"Here's my girlfriend Tina Kennard; she heads a development in Alphaville," introduced Eric. Bette Porter transferred her smile onto Tina, and locked eyes with her for several long moments. Tina normally didn't like people who stared – she felt it was rude, but the way Bette Porter stared wasn't insolent. It wasn't even really a stare. It felt more like an understanding.

"Tina, Bette Porter."

"Nice to meet you."

Tina heard her speak for the first time. It was thrilling. Her voice was refined, mellow, slightly low. Then Tina realized with acute embarrassment that she was wearing the most stupid and nervous smile possible. Struggling to pull herself together, she said faintly, "Hi…nice to meet you."

Seemingly unaware of how totally thrown off her feet Tina felt, Eric went on quickly. "Bette, we were wondering…how would Katherine Opie feel about us blowing up that print there to 5x6 feet?"

Bette smiled at Eric. "Well why don't you ask her yourself, she's right over there," she suggested disarmingly, gesturing toward a short-haired woman some distance away. Eric looked questioningly at Tina. She gave him a small smile.

"I think I'll just stay here."

"Okay, excellent."

Eric marched off and Tina was left alone with Bette Porter. Tina barely dared look at her. She sufficed by glancing up at her once in a while.

"So you're in film, Tina?"

"Yeah, yeah I am. I'm a development executive right now. I haven't been doing this for very long."

Bette smiled at her again. Tina felt like collapsing. _She is too charming, really. I need to sit down._

"Yeah, well me neither actually," Bette laughed. "I graduated just a couple of years ago. But I've done quite a few of these exhibitions because it's something I'm just really passionate about. I think it's important to love what you do."

Tina marveled at how warm and open she was, how sincere.

"Yes it is, I think so too. This is my first time at one of your exhibitions but I'm sorry I didn't come before. It's beautiful, you have great taste."

She was rewarded with another brilliant smile.

"Thank you very much. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Which pieces do you like in particular? My personal favourite is _Sleeping in the Light_."

Tina smiled in delighted surprise. What a coincidence, to be sure. "That was lovely. I thought it sent such a evocative message," said Tina happily, glad they had similar taste. It was suddenly wildly important for an unfathomable reason. This woman wasn't intimidating. She sure wasn't as scary as she looked and Tina felt herself loosening up.

Laughing slightly, she admitted, "I feel a little out of my depth here to tell the truth. Eric raves about all this but I'm no expert."

"Well your ignorance is charming, because it makes me feel really useful. Let me take you around, come on."

Tina cast an obligatory glance at Eric – he was engrossed in conversation elsewhere – before willingly letting herself be led away by this fantastic specimen of a woman.

***

"Excuse me, Bette."

Bette turned around and saw Eric, the entertainment lawyer. Then her eyes fell upon the blond lady next to him. Bette's heart skipped a beat.

This woman couldn't be much younger than herself, but she seemed so young, and fresh. Her skin was white and tinged with pink, her features small and delicate. She wasn't wildly beautiful or stunningly hot, but Bette felt overwhelmed in a moment by an urge to find out more about her. _This is crazy. She's probably Eric's girlfriend._

His next words confirmed her fears. _Fuck. _Now she had to face being strangely and intensely attracted to her acquaintance's straight girlfriend. Attached, straight, but cute. Very, very cute. Bette couldn't stop staring. There was something about her. She noticed that the little blond girl – Tina was her name, it emerged – was a little nervous. Bette hoped she wasn't scaring her. She often scared people with her self-confidence.

Eric was in the way. So she diverted him to Katherine Opie, who would certainly keep him occupied for a fair period of time. Then the two women began to talk. Tina was less shy than she had appeared originally. She talked freely and intelligently – they liked the same painting! Bette was captivated in a way that felt disturbingly unfamiliar to her. So she offered to lead her round the gallery; something, the straight girl hopefully did not know, the famous Bette Porter normally didn't do for the girl of some average guest.

And as Bette led the intriguing straight girl off deeper into the gallery, she thought ruefully to herself that she was in great danger of falling very hard for the most inappropriate person._ Shit._

***

Tina lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling. Eric had been a tad annoyed with her for having disappeared for so long during the exhibition, but he had been impressed to hear that Tina had "managed to talk Bette Porter into showing (her) around". Tina scoffed at the thought. She hadn't needed to beg. Beautiful Bette Porter had been perfectly amiable and accommodating. She had offered to show her around, damn it. She was just so nice.

"It's her smile. Her smile is so nice," Tina said aloud to herself, feeling foolish immediately after she said it. _Get a grip, Tina. You're too old for a girl crush. _Tina sighed. _I wonder if she has a girlfriend. Not, of course, that I want to be her girlfriend. She's just interesting._

The direction her thoughts were taking her was disconcerting. She wasn't homo-phobic at all, but she was supposed to be hot for Eric, and not entertaining thoughts of a borderline homosexual nature about a hot Yale grad she barely knew. Okay. Eric, Eric, Eric.

Ah screw Eric, seriously. She hadn't even known him for all that long. He was a nice guy with respectable interests, but he was just a little too boyish and over-excited at times. The way Bette had steered him off towards Katherine something earlier had made him look a bit silly.

_I wonder when I'll see Bette Porter again._


	2. Chapter 2

"You know what, Martin…I think you can just fucking handle it yourself. God damn it. Stop asking me such fucking stupid questions."

Her assistant shrugged his shoulders and promptly made himself scarce. Bette waited for the door to close before slumping back in her seat and letting off a mental string of unprintable vulgarities. The organization of this particular dinner was not going too well. Things were behind schedule, responses hadn't yet arrived from guests – the whole behind-the-scenes cavort that took place behind one of her famous "artist dinners". It was simply frustrating. She banged experimentally on her polished wooden table and swore ferociously as the shock jarred all the way up to her elbow.

_Okay, Bette. Stop it. Take a breather._

She forced herself to sit still for a moment. Then, with a measured calmness, she reached out for the updated guest list Martin had just brought in. She scanned it hurriedly, impatiently, knowing what she was looking for but not daring to admit it to herself.

**Katherine Opie Yes**

**Eric Malston Pending**

**Tina Kennard Pending**

Bette sighed. It was just inappropriate, what she was doing. She was getting all wrought up primarily because some straight girl hadn't yet RSVP-ed. This just wasn't her typical style. This crush wasn't about to go anywhere, she was sure. She didn't know two-pence about this girl. She had a boyfriend who was, honestly, a rather decent-looking chap. _And_ she was in film, which wasn't a plus point. Bette had heard enough about the film business to know that it could be real messy stuff.

Yet, Bette mused, there had been something there. It wasn't imagined, surely. There had been unexpected, familiar warmth to their short exchanges, something absurdly pleasing in the way Tina looked at her with first a wary, and then a relatively less readable expression. It had been refreshing and strangely comforting spending time with her, and unless Bette was very much mistaken the blond might have felt some of that too.

Bette gave herself a shake and laughed out loud at the direction her thoughts were taking her in. _You're cooler than this, girl. Come on, _whispered the voice in her head.

"Um…Bette? New one."

Bette looked up and realized that Martin was shuffling about the entrance of her room.

"What is it?"

"You told me you wanted every new update of the guest list," he said quickly, cowering slightly.

"Who rsvp-ed?"

Bette held her breath. _Tina Kennard Tina Kennard Tina Kennard._

"Hmm…Eric Malston."

"And guest? Tina Kennard?" Bette said sharply despite herself.

Martin glanced at her uncertainly before looking studiously down at the list. "Um…yeah…yes, Tina Kennard confirmed too," he said.

Bette felt like doing a victory dance in the privacy of her office suddenly.

"Go and take a tea break, Martin."

***

Once again Tina found herself standing in front of the same oak doors she had faced two weeks earlier.

Had it been so long? The days had passed agonizingly slowly. _But it would have been infinitely worse, _Tina told herself, _if that delightful invitation hadn't come in two days later_. Well, obviously Bette Porter had intended to invite Eric – that had clearly been her objective, since he was the art guy – but Tina couldn't help hoping that Bette had thought of her, even in passing, in the fortnight that had gone by. And with that thought, Tina mentally slapped herself for the thousandth time. She was obsessing so much over Bette Porter that she was getting on her own nerves.

"I'm glad you took my advice, Tina, and dressed up for the occasion," said Eric, beaming at her and bouncing slightly in excitement. Tina sighed. Now here was someone who had really been getting on her nerves. He was always so _delighted. _And ingratiating. She sometimes felt like she was taking a Golden Retriever out for a trot.

_And please don't think I dressed up for you!_

She wasn't narcissistic, but was pleased nevertheless with how she looked that day. Her dress was sweet and simple, and she had gone easy on the make-up, opting for a fresher, cleaner look. Instead she had gone to get her hair done, and now the golden locks hung loose down her back, gleaming and slightly curled. Tina wondered if Bette liked girls with golden hair. It would be a pity if she didn't. _Maybe I should have done my hair another way? Maybe I should have dyed it. Maybe I should have gone for something daring, she's artistic after all._

Amid her profound ruminations, Tina hadn't noticed that they had now arrived in the dining room, which was merely a converted section of the gallery. A long table adorned with tasteful flowers and delicate gold candlesticks stood in the middle of the room. They were a little late, Tina noticed. While some guests were still milling about viewing the new collection, some had already taken their seats at the table. She glanced around for Bette.

And found her immediately because she was one of the taller women in the room and was easily taller than the two men who were in conversation with her. She looked ravishing. As usual, her clothes were perfectly molded to her athletic frame. Tina immediately wandered away from Eric and began drifting nearer the little group, hoping that Bette might notice her and come say hi. Tina sighed self-deprecatingly. She knew very well that she was acting like a crazed teenager with a huge crush but it was hard not to be so aware of Bette. The woman had tremendous presence and charisma, and to top it all she was exotically beautiful.

Tina stared blindly at a picture for a long while, praying that if she remained stationary for long enough, and the other guests went to their seats, Bette might notice her.

***

"This is marvelous, Miss Porter."

"Thank you, Mr. Buchanan. Please enjoy the dinner."

Bette turned away from the amiable old art critic she had been talking to and looked discreetly around for Tina Kennard's golden head. There. Tina was staring, apparently absorbed, at one of the centerpieces of today's exhibition. Bette had fought the urge to greet her and strike up a conversation the moment Tina walked in, because she knew that it would be hard to give her attention to all the important guests she had today after she got started with her. Now everybody was taking their seats, however, and having arranged it such that Miss Tina Kennard would be sitting on her right, Bette was impatient for her to take her place.

Bette approached her.

"Are you coming to sit down?"

Tina turned around quickly, looking slightly flustered. Bette wondered if she had shocked her, and smiled at her comfortingly in case she had. To Bette's pleasure, Tina smiled back, and the two young women stood smiling at each other for a second before Tina realized that she hadn't replied.

"Yeah, I-I just really like this one," stuttered Tina, gesturing toward the piece in front of her. Bette decided that Tina must really be immensely nervous. She seemed shifty, not knowing whether to look at the painting or look at Bette. What Bette knew for sure, though, was that when the woman did look at her, she felt very much like kissing her perfect pink lips. They were like perfect coral. They had to be immensely delicious. Bette decided to cease staring at her for fear of crowding her, and was just shifting her gaze when she noticed something glinting in her long golden hair. Her earring.

"Oh, look—you've lost your earring."

Bette reached out bravely and picked the earring delicately out of Tina's – _immensely soft! _– hair. The other woman flinched slightly but didn't move away.

"Here." Bette handed it to her, smiling again. She wasn't one for smiling at everything and everyone, but she felt an inexplicable urge to smile at this golden girl whenever she set eyes on her. So she continued smiling. And once again the two women smiled ridiculously at each other for a full five seconds while Tina fumbled with putting on her ear-ring. _Something here is looking good, _thought Bette.

***

Tina felt her heart jump crazily in her chest as Bette reached towards her. Look at what? For a delirious moment Tina thought that Bette was going to touch her face.

Oh, the earring. Tina felt disappointed for a while till she felt the back of Bette Porter's smooth brown hand brush against her chin, and touch her ear. She had to clench her toes to stop herself from turning to kiss those fingers, or cup that hand against her face. _Crazy, crazy, crazy Tina. You're crazy._

While they were smiling at each other, Tina felt her skin tingle where Bette's hand had brushed against it. Tina wondered if she was obsessed enough not to wash her face for days. Possibly. Probably.

"Come on."

Bette touched Tina's hand gently and turned to walk towards the table.

_Definitely._

Tina felt her hand burning. Feeling guilty as a child and blushing to herself, she reached up and took off her earring when Bette's back was turned, dropping it casually on the floor as she walked.

_You're desperate._

_So what? I might not see her again if not._

***

The gallery was empty. Bette walked quickly around, doing a final check of the place before she could lock up for the night. She lingered around the place where she and Tina had smiled at each other earlier, recalling and enjoying the moment. _It had been too cute._

Then she spied something glittering near her shoe. Suddenly breathless, she stooped down and picked up the object.

_Now, this is really too cute._


End file.
